Northern Maine Community College Earns Prestigious State Award

Aroostook County – Northern Maine Community College has earned a state award for its record of safety as well as its policies, procedures and training dealing with safety issues.

Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette presented the award to NMCC President Tim Crowley and members of the College safety committee during a celebratory staff luncheon on Thursday, January 22 at the Edmunds Conference Center.

“NMCC deserves to be proud of the meticulous work it has done in the area of safety,” said Commissioner Paquette to the NMCC staff. “It’s no small task to make safety job one on a College campus but the dedication of a large team of people is obvious here and the Department of Labor is delighted to make this award.”

The Safety and Health Award for Public Employers (SHAPE) recognizes public-sector organizations that voluntarily undertake a rigorous safety achievement program for its workers.  Currently there are only 47 organizations in Maine that have received the award and are participating in the program.  NMCC is the only college or university campus in Maine that has earned the honor.

“Achieving this award has been ten years in the making,” according to Barry Ingraham, Director of Physical Plant and Technology.  “We’ve implemented weekly inspections of all of our buildings to look for potential hazards; an active safety committee investigates and finds solutions to safety problems; and we’ve created an electronic system to manage all chemicals on campus.  We’ve also created an energy control procedures manual which includes photos of equipment and how to properly lock and tag them out.”

“We’re very proud that our hard work to keep students and staff safe is paying off with real results that we see every day on campus,” said President Tim Crowley. “It has become our culture to integrate safety in everything we do.  We’re pleased that our commitment is being recognized by this significant award.”

The SHAPE award was conceived in 2005 as a way to recognize public-sector employers and employees who are striving to provide a safe and healthful workplace. It is given only to employers after a thorough review and inspection of the employer’s safety and health policies and procedures by a SafetyWorks! consultant.  The state consultants consider factors such as clean air, noise exposures, radiation levels and worker injuries. Recommendations are made of ways to reduce or to eliminate hazards.